Rise To Face It
by MysticDayze
Summary: Follow the lives of a group of ordinary highschool kids, united by a model UN club and similar histories. Things seem to be normal until one day when a bed intruder, a suspicious accident and a display of their history teacher's strength change everything
1. Chapter 1

May Alex, a normal girl, woke up one morning. It was grey outside and the cold December sky was shrouded in grey clouds. She yawned and smacked her chicken clock to shut it up.

"I Hate Mondays." She groaned stretching her arms over her head.

Today had only one positive note; the HistoFreaks were meeting at lunch. She smiled, imagining how it would go. Most likely, Josh would argue that Russia was better as the Soviet Union and would debate the point that Belarus should be allowed to rejoin. Parker would throw a tomato at Jonas, call him a kraut breathed spud faced Nazi, causing Jonas to ask Ally for a German translation which she would spend five minutes wrestling with her conscious over. Mr. Carpenter would get all flustered and angry with them, and would pull rank as advisor to try to bring his charges back to the meeting at hand.

"We are supposed to be a representation of the U.N.," He would begin. "If this were the way countries handled disputes, the world would quickly erupt into anarchy. No would you all kindly pick up the tomatoes and get back into your assigned seats!"

She liked that teacher. He was an amazing historian and a really cool guy. He also had this way of establishing order in a classroom by just walking into it. Only a few people could make him raise his voice. Unfortunately, all three of those people were in the HistoFreaks club. Parker, Josh and Kevin just happened to be those three people.

Alex had been oddly tired lately. She felt like all she did half the time in school was sleep. Thankfully, joining the Model UN with her best friend Sandy had started to help. Alex had fallen asleep during her first after school meeting (during the lunch ones she was too busy eating to sleep) and regretted it instantly. She had found out the hard way the penalty for napping during a Model UN convention. Waking up with **NOOB** written on your forehead in permanent red sharpie can do that to a person.

* * *

><p>"Dear God man, get a grip on yourself!" The club leader Peter shouted in a horrible British accent.<p>

"Ah Will nievah surrender to sooch a bumbling Brit! Sacrebleu, you are such a More-on!" Kevin Napoleon declared in a "Captain Morgan" pose with one arm raised in a Nazi salute.

"Stop, stop the simulation. Kevin. What was that?"

"My awesome French accent, duh!" He hopped down from the chair and caught Josh in a half nelson, mussing his hair with an elbow.

"If that is your French accent, I absolutely forbid you to ever attempt a Swedish one." He crossed to his desk and whittled a piece of balsawood. "Continue with the negotiations."

"Wait, so just for clarification, I'm not allowed to do this?" Kevin loudly cleared his throat and began, "Halo Ima Ralf-a from-a suh-ve-dun. Woot choo lock to bai sum re-al estate?"

The group snickered for a moment before the chill of Mr. C's "No-No" glare shut us all up. Kevin and Peter continued to debate peace terms while May Alex and I munched on our ham sandwiches together. Mine was on wheat and hers on gluten-free rye, but other than that exactly the same. There is a strange quality about ham that binds a friendship together.

"So." She began, as usual with a sheepish smile on her pink cheeked face "Did you see Eric during gym?"

I groaned happily. Just thinking about Eric Dale could make any freshman girl (or sophomore, or junior, or senior) squeal in a giddy high-pitched frequency that only dogs could hear.

"I know, that guy is like a perfect eleven. And that accent…" We both sighed, our girly fantasies broken only by the unwanted interruption of Parker leaning in between us and snaking our poor little necks.

"Ooooooh Kevin! Did you hear about Eric?" He mimicked in a falsetto imitation of May, who glared at him with a look that only he could tempt out of her.

"You mean FOB, shorts shorter than his knees, French cologne Eric? Damn girls, you sure have GREAT taste. Kesesesesese!"

"Shut up Kevin." Jonas growled. "I cannot stand…" He struggled with his English for a moment. Thankfully, the jerks waited patiently for him to finish, having already tasted Ally's vengeance for mocking him. "People who… make a mockery of other… person's cultures."

" Nice." Mr.C nodded In approval. "Boys, try to have a little consideration for immigrants. They are here for a reason. Find another way to poke at the girls' taste in men."

"Still Mr.C, you gotta admit those shorts are an unnatural length."

Mr. Carpenter shrugged and got back to his lunch, just barely hiding a ghost of a smile. "Continue. No Swedish accents."

Berwald Carpenter had come over to America from his native Sweden about three years ago. He'd already been able to speak English, so it hadn't been a problem to find work, but it had taken a while for his students to warm up to him. Mr. Carpenter had started at our school a year ago in the administrations office. Then this year he had suddenly decided to teach World History and A.P government, which meant that everyone had to get used to his… stoic ways.

I admit that the first time I walked into his classroom, I had instantly felt uncomfortable. For the first three or so weeks of school, Mr. C just handed out assignments and stared at the class. It always seemed like he had something to say, but he never actually verbalized it. Then one day, we were given a study review guide for an upcoming test on the affects of the American Revolution on the rest of the world, when I got stuck. I can usually figure stuff out pretty well, but I found myself staring at the same question for ten minutes.

_14. What other country, aside from France, aided America in the revolutionary war and give the ways and reasons for this aid._

Aside from France? What other country was our ally? I felt increasingly desperate in my need to have the right answer to everything and being unable to force my mind to spit out the answer. Had we even read this section? Mr. Carpenter said that the study guide questions might reappear on the test, what if this one did? I couldn't draw a blank on the test; my mom would flip if my grade slipped.

I looked up and met the gaze of my teacher. How long had he been watching me struggle? I felt my face flush then met his gaze again. He got up and came over.

"You have a question?" His voice was surprisingly soft for such a tough, intimidating guy.

"Yeah, I'm totally drawing a blank on number fourteen. I think I know the answer, but…"

He picked up my paper and nodded. "We need to go over this section, the book was not very clear… the answer is Prussia. I must have forgotten to assign that reading." It was the most I had ever heard him say.

After that, people went to me to ask questions. It turns out that pretty much everybody else had struggled with the same problem. Now they looked to me to ask the questions they were afraid to ask themselves. And it worked magic. Suddenly, Mr. Carpenter started explaining things. He went over what we needed to learn in a clear, concise way that even the idiots could understand. And once he started talking, he quickly became a favorite among freshmen girls. We all realized that he was really attractive, and the female potion of the class started a friendly competition over who could get his attention the most, who was the favorite, and who could make him smile. It wasn't serious crushing, just the playful kind. You know, like how you act around a particularly handsome brother of a friend's.

Anyway, as you can see, Mr. C quickly rose to the top of everyone's **BOSS TEACH** list. That's how Kevin would put it, anyway.

Sandy

* * *

><p>Dear Awesome Diary,<p>

It's me Kevin. Yeah yeah, you know that, but that's how you start a diary entry.

So lately I've been thinking about dad. What's that? You want to hear about him again? Well… If you insist… kesesese.

I was born in Prussia, (which by the way, is a country again. yeah take that Yo-Naze!) where my dad lives. Mom ditched when I was born and left me in the hospital. Not that I care, of course. Only noobs get all sentimental about that sort of crap. I mean, seriously, just get up and leave your kid will you? Like, "oh, that's an ugly baby. I'm gonna go to America so I don't have to look at it. Here honey, you can take care of it." Huh, where was I oh yeah… heh. Ignore that whole last part. It seems kinda angsty which is totally not cool. I'm not like Josh who's always goin' off about what a bastard his dad is for leaving his mam and all that. But I digress.

So Dad took care of me on his own. Sure, mom came to visit every once and a while until I was three when she left a note at her house saying she'd gone to America for work, left a check, blah blah bull shit. But I'm not sour about that. Always look to the future, that's what I say.

So yeah, Dad and I were pretty well off until I turned five. Then some crap started happening. The government came one day, looked around our apartment and said that my dad was "unfit to care for a child." They threatened to foreclose the place if I wasn't given over to the state. And my dad said (this is my awesomest and the reason my dad is the BA'ist guy ever) "The hell with you guys. If you think I'm giving him up, you're dead wrong. Tell your buddy in the big house that he can stick his fancy papers-" Yep, that's dad. Then he gave them the finger and they took our home.

Ahhh… hmmm, wait sorry I was reminissisisng. (I totally spelled that wrong on porpoise. I'm just that awesome.) Anyways, so we moved In with dad's little brother, which worked for all of three seconds before the child protection agency showed up and gave us another warning. Uncle Luddy asked for three days, in which one of my dad's friends came and smuggled me over the border and across the Pacific Atlantic Mediterranean Ocean to the U.S. of A where I changed my name. I guess Gilbert Jr. was just too much for the noobs to handle. My middle name sounds more BA anyway.

So there you go, diary. There's the story again. Now to the actual reason for my writing this.

Today we had a HistoFreaks meeting and Jonas totally called us out in front of everybody. I mean just cause we made fun of some Italian weirdo… or whatever he is. Now everybody is like, "oooh Jonas!"

"You're so conscientious Jonas!" "Let's make out cause you're from Germany!" Geez. You'd think that just cause some guy finally puts together a full statement in English that the world is ten times better. Ally was all over him, telling him what a good job he'd done, how he'd managed to stand up to those mean boys. I swear, sometimes I want to kick him where the sun don't shine. Not that I envy him Ally's attention or anything. Heck no! She's like, really clingy and all obsessed with classical music. (I'm more of a punk/progressive dude, 'cause you know… I'M FREAKIN AWESOME!) I mean, she literally eats, sleeps and breathes the stuff. Someday I would love to just grab her by the shoulders and shake her into reality. Being a concert pianist is not going to make him come back! Even if she is the greatest, most bestest in the country, if her dad was enough of an asshole to leave her and her mom (who makes the best cookies in the universe… **FYI) **then he's not coming back! She has to get on with her life.

Not that I care about her. She's whiny and over achieving, and has the biggest brown nose in the school. Not to mention that she isn't even _that _pretty. Sure the way the sun catches her wavy chocolaty brown hair is nice… but she's totally flat chested and awesome dudes like me only go for the chicks with the real deal. Duh. And if my cousin is stupid enough to fall for her puppy dog eyes then it ain't my problem. Good luck Yo-Naze. You're gonna need it kesesesese!

Hmmm… Oh that's Bella. Time for dinner, I'd better wrap this up. SO yeah, bye!

The Awesome Kevin

* * *

><p>Another day had gone by uneventfully in school. May Alex slung her heavy backpack down to its usual seat on the living room sofa. Her aunt Sabrina and Uncle Josef were home already. Uncle was heading out for his night-shift as a security guard for the multiplex at the capitol and Aunty was busy cooking dinner. May smiled at the familiar scent of smoked salmon and rice that reached her.<p>

"Ah Maya! Buenas tardes! And how is my little Estreya hoy?"

"Hola tio." She smiled and stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. "Today was just the usual."

"Hmm… Didn't that club of yours meet today?" He mused as he ruffled her curly hair thoughtfully, "How did that go?"

"As usual. We got very little done and had fun not doing it. Oh, by the way tio, it isn't _my_ club. I only joined recently, remember?"

"Ah! Si, si. Sorry Maya, I keep forgetting. It was Sandra-"

"Sandy, tio."

"Right, Sandy. Who got you in, right?"

Sandy had joined the club by request of Mr. Carpenter and Peter, (who was dating her cousin and figured that it would do good to have an insider on his girlfriend's life) then after weeks of cajoling had managed to convince her best friend to join her. Both were huge history buffs, mainly because Sandy was and pressed it on May, but also because they were both into a popular anime that had to do with the countries of the world. It was a weird thing to get into, but it fit their senses of humor and they loved it. So joining a model UN group where they could pretend to be the human representatives and famous leaders of countries was a great outlet for their geekiness.

"Yes, it was her tio. We only go through this every week." She sighed and flipped upside down on the couch to read some manga and goof off.

"Maya, don't you have homework to do?" Her aunt stood in the doorway with one eyebrow raised.

"Uhhh… yeah, but I had study hall so I got most of it done…"

"Mmmhmm. Let me see your assignment book."

"Ah Aunty!"

"Maya," she flipped to the day's date, "Have you finished your reading assignment from English?"

"Yes."

"Lab write up for biology?"

"Uhhhh… mostly?"

"Mmmhmm… Work questions for algebra?"

"Nno but aunty-"

"Finish your work, then you can slack. Your grades are already slipping from your sleeping problems. While we work on that, you'll have to try harder to keep up with school."

Aunt kissed May on the forehead and walked back to the kitchen.

"Bye Maya! See you tomorrow!" Uncle Josef waved and tipped his hat.

"Adios Tio Josef!" May pulled out her work books and got cracking. If she wanted to have more time for reading later, she needed to finish as fast as possible.

The snow fell lightly outside her window as May crawled into bed that night. She smiled sleepily and adjusted the picture of her mom on her bedside table. Aunty was out nursing and uncle was at his job so she was alone. But May didn't mind; it had been this way since she could remember. Her mother had died when she was two and she'd become separated from her father around the same time. Did she wish that he was secretly looking for her somewhere? Yes. Uncle Josef was a good parent, but he wasn't _her_ father. She'd always felt like there would be something different about her real papa. She kissed her mother's photograph and snuggled in with her stuffed kitten, mittens, said her prayers, and promptly fell asleep.

Outside her window the man watched longingly. It had been years since he'd seen his baby, now he'd finally found her. His breath fogged up the glass and his lips formed the one, beautiful word:

**May.**


	2. Chapter 2: Things Get Fishy

Another dull gray morning. Tuesdays were hardly better than Mondays in many respects. HistoFreaks didn't even meet that day.

The rooster clock read 3:43 am when May woke prematurely that morning. May Alex yawned and rolled over. Another day another destiny, the lyrics of that song came back to her randomly. She stretched her legs out and felt something odd. Confused, May slowly coaxed her eyes open… to rest her gaze upon the sleeping man next to her.

She blinked, once twice, three times before her brain registered what she was seeing. There was a guy. In her bed.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The young man shifted at the scream and opened his eyes to look up at the girl who had leapt off the bed, brandishing a pillow. He smiled sleepily in recognition.

"Oh, hello- ACK!" May cut him off with a violent swing of her pillow.

"Ayaaah! What the Hell! What-who are- who the HELL are YOU!"

The poor man sat up, shielding his face with his arms from the repeated heavy blows.

"Eek! Ve ve ve! I surrender, I surrender!" He wildly waved a white flag that had appeared from nowhere and continued to apologize fervidly in a stream of rapid Italian. May paused her attack and cocked her head to one side.

"Who are you?" She asked softly, hoping to quiet him down. It was really early and she was tired; her voice was hoarse and she didn't appreciate the noise.

The man's face brightened, "Oh I'm-… uh… uh… I'm, I'm…" The man was looking nervous now, his smile gone and the sweat starting to appear on his forehead.

Suddenly, the intruder leapt off the bed and lifted May's basket of old dolls and stuffed animals into the air. He then proceeded to put it over his head, dumping its contents on the floor.

"I'm-a the basket of Dollies fairy! Don't mind me! This is only a dream! Woooh!"

He made a floppy I'm-attempting-to-be-spooky movement with his arms and backed up away from her. The only problem was that there was a dresser behind him.

CRASH! The man fell backwards, knocking over a lamp and tripping on a loose boot. He stumbled forward, put his hands out… then fell out the window. The five story window. May screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>The Evening Before<strong>

I come home to find it as usual. Nothing is out of place and the picture of dad on the front hall table is, like always upright and proud. My shoes go in the mudroom in my "cubby" and I wiggle my toes in their fuzzy socks happily. A little later, Jonas would be here (he was out taking photos in town for his journal project, there were already a few comedy shots of him and I doing silly things like pretending to be reading over the Palmer Square statue's shoulder or eating ice-cream with weird faces… stuff like that) but for now it's just me and mom. I leave my shoulder bag leaning by the living room loveseat and eagerly make my way to Sebastian, my baby Grand.

The feel of the ivories under my fingers is always amazing. A long time ago I had found that if I just opened him up and closed my eyes, Sebastian would lead my fingers to where they should be. It was the greatest way for me to relax after a day of testing and the heckload of stress I got for taking AP Gov as a Sophomore. So I played.

Something you need to know about me is that my goal in life is to be a concert hall musician. I've already been to Carnegie hall twice and my next step is to attempt Kennedy Center. Later, I hope to tour Europe, but that won't happen for a _long _time. Kevin is constantly making fun of my ambition saying that I'm "trying to upstage Beethoven" and that "daddy will be sure to attend one of my performances one day, with young wife and kids in tow." Geez that guy is a jerk.

As I think this, I frown and my notes turned more aggressive and forte. Sebastian took my irritation and frustration and turned it into something that sounds great and lets me vent without saying anything. That was the best thing about music.

As for my life goal, I put aside three hours a day to practice "real" music; compositions by names such as Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy and many others. For my "break time" I improvise, like what I'm doing now. I'll close my eyes and let the music flow for half an hour before I finish up my homework (I do most of it during study hall) and get to practicing. Kevin and others would say I'm obsessive, and I guess I am, but I enjoy doing what I do and it makes my mom happy to hear me play. Jonas likes it too, and he's even managed to shown me a few tricks.

Speaking of Jonas, It's been great having him in the house. Mom is friends with Jonas' dad, so when his job required him to become separated from his son mom offered to take him in. She's cool that way. Jonas is also pretty cool. He enjoys cleaning and is pretty OCD about keeping everything neat and tidy. This is good because I'm kind of lazy when it comes to housekeeping, even though I'm a neat freak. I'll complain if a room is dirty, but I won't do anything. Mom calls me a "moocher."

There is one downside to having Jonas around, though. That downside's name is Kevin. He and I have been partnered for everything since we came to high school. We're the only two Sophs in AP gov, so we have to do concepts and bill analysis together. Ugh. I really hate gov., but I want to go Ivy league in college, so I have to start now. Kevin is there for the same reason; his "aunt" (she's really just some lady his dad pays to take care of him, like in Les Mis) Bella won't give him any financial backing so he has to take all of these ridiculous classes so he only has to go for like, two years. Cost cutting, true, but since Kev is pretty idiotic I don't think it will work.

Mom's standing behind me and listening. I can tell from the shadow on Sebastian's obsidian surface. She shuffles back to the kitchen from where she wafts the scent of baking cookies to my nose. I stop and turn to meet her grin.

"They'll be done in about twenty minutes. Do you know when Jonas will be home?"

"He said he just wanted to get some fountain shots, so it shouldn't be long. Oh, that must be him." The doorbell chime sounded and I looked back to my ivories while mom got the door.

"Mooch." She whispered as she passed by and ruffled my hair.

The December air pored in through the open door as mom gasped in surprise.

"Oh! Did you two meet up in town? Come in! Jonas, you know where to put the camera case. Come on in!"

"Wow Ms. Herd-a-very, you look great! Do I smell cookies?"

Oh God.

* * *

><p><strong>(In German)<strong> Jonas Belshmidt

America Log; Month 3 day 7

If you look throughout the world, you will not find a more annoying, obnoxious, egotistical sixteen year old boy than Kevin Belshmidt. And, just my luck, he's my cousin.

It's gotten too dangerous for me in Berlin. Living with Vati is out of the question, and since Mutter died last spring, I've been in constant danger of being discovered by the government. Of course, since I am the kind of man to voluntarily live in a dungeon for three weeks eating only cheese, bread and water, I'm not exactly easy to pin down.

So Vati sent me to America to live with a friend of his and her daughter. Alicia is a very nice girl. She's been helpful with my limited English and has helped me to start adjusting to the local cultures. Like I have said before, she is pretty good at German and can usually translate the rapid English into something I can understand. She also had been very supportive of me, although she is slightly smothering. Just because I am not the best-spoken man, does not mean that I need to be mothered. I know she means well, but Ally sort of treats me like a little brother… even though I am two years her senior.

And on the other hand, there is Kevin. Today he tracked me down after school and scared the crap out of me on the campus as I tried to get a snow shot. Then he followed me home and practically invited himself into Elizabeta's home.

"SO… Al-i-sia, heard you've got a big gig coming up on Saturday." He laughed and put his hands behind his head as he propped his legs up on the coffee table. I had to bite my lip and clench my fists until the knuckles showed to keep from cursing him out in German. I was technically a guest here; it wasn't my place to yell at him.

"Yes, I do have a **recital**. Why, you wanna watch? I'm sure Mrs. Kendel won't miss you." She taunted him, knowing as well as the rest of us where Public School Enemy #1 spent his Saturdays.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to disappoint," He smirked back "The pictures of her cats are so _riveting._"

Ally smiled slightly until Kevin, as usual, said something about her dad and woke the dragon. The two of them have a very interesting relationship that tiptoes along the fine line between best friends, and enemies. Of course, there's also that additional element that neither of them will admit to the existence of unless gagged and beaten until… well beaten badly anyway. It's amazing how blind people can be to their own emotions. Especially Kevin.

I don't pretend that my cousin is a saint, but his life hasn't exactly been very happy. My uncle Gilbert held onto Kevin too long; the government had threatened force, so he and dad had to lose the toddler quickly. That meant sending him to America where, at the time, they had very few connections and consequently had to enroll Kevin in a private foster program where the American government wouldn't have the ability to track him down. Unfortunately, this meant that my cousin was given to the care of Bella Goode and her husband Gus: who care for Kevin on the personal level of the Swiss mercenaries. He won't admit to being lonely or upset, but I managed to sneak a look at his diary and plus: I've met Bella. She's very uhhh… _interesting. _Nevertheless, Kevin is a major pain in my butt.

The cookies came out just as the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Ms. Herdavery sang and went to the kitchen where the phone hung from its hook.

My contacts had been bothering me so I also traveled to the kitchen to splash some water on my eyes. I was about to dry my hands when something in Elizabeta's voice kept me frozen.

"Yes I understand the situation, but can't the conference wait a bit longer? I just got home from the last one- yes, yes I know what is at stake. I DO Rod, or have you forgotten who it was that was his slave for hundreds of years? Yes, yes, no I do not have to tell you why I am where I am. I have an apartment here for diplomatic reasons. Dammit! I can't leave right now- Jonas how long have you been standing there?"

It took me a few moments to realize she was talking to panic in her eyes was startling. _Crap, if she knows I know… WWMD? _

"Sorry, I was just… umm.." I gestured to my eyes. "Sorry, mein English…"

Something like relief crossed her face "Sorry to scare you, I'll call you back." She said the last part into the phone and put the receiver up. Smiling she retreated to her room and I rejoined my cousin and Ally in the living-room. But I couldn't focus on the conversation. Because, you see, I used my English as the excuse that I hadn't understood the phone call… but Ms. Herdavery had been speaking in German.

And now to the question that has been nagging me since I arrived here; who is she? How does she fit into the world I'm hiding from, and why do I have to hide from it?

Gutentag

Jonas Belshmidt

* * *

><p>"So let's go through this again please."<p>

"Alright."

The girl fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably. This was awkward and she could tell from the hospital personnel's faces as she had related the story the first five times that they didn't believe her. Now they had brought in **another** doctor: who she figured had come fresh from the rubber room side of the building.

"You say that you went to bed at nine thirty?"

"Yes."

"and you woke up at, what time again?"

"Uh, three fourtyish." She nervously fingered her wooden cross.

"Uh huh. Did you go to a party last night?"

"No! I already told you that I went to bed ALONE and when I woke up, there he was," May gestured towards the glass window to the next room where her "friend" was sitting, unscathed from his fall, staring happily at the ceiling.

"Well… why don't we ask him about it? The nurse says that he's perfectly fine which is strange. How high up did you say you were?"

"Five stories, yes I know, it sounds crazy." She snapped in exhaustion. Waking up four hours early, rescuing a dazed man from an old lady who beat him with her purse calling him a fallen angel from the devil, driving said man to the hospital in a taxi, attempting to tell the doctors what had happened and not being believed had not helped her odd sleep issues. She was tired, cranky and scared of being locked up or interrogated by the police. She also hadn't had contact with her companion for the last four hours.

"Hello there son. You've had quite a morning. Lets check you out."

The doctor shined a light in the man's eyes as he asked questions.

"So how old are you?"

"I'm-a … twenty!" He shifted a little. "Of course that's-a the people equivalent I'm-a actually….. ung." He groaned as the doctor put a hand on the side of his head to keep him steady. "Please… don't do that."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he removed his hand, "does it hurt?"

"Uh… something like that." He sighed in relief.

"So this young lady says that you fell out her wimdow?"

The man spotted May and waved. He was grinning, but the smile disappeared when he saw the embarrassed look on her face.

"Uh, yeah. I was… mistaken."

"Mistaken?"

"Yes. You see, my apartment is in the same building, one window over. Unfortunately, the building was locked by the time I came back so… I climbed the trellis."

"You climbed the-?"

"Yeah, uh I always keep my window open so I… must have accidentally come in May's window by mistake. I'm very sorry." He beamed at her again.

May was shocked.

"Uh how do you-?"

"So," the doctor cut her off "Where are you from son?"

"Italy! Its-a my home and-a very beautiful!" He went on for five minutes with great hand gestures until they finally caught him.

"So what's your name, son?"

"Italy!"

"No, not where you're from, what is YOUR name?"

"I just said it. I'm Italy, Italy Veniciano…."

The man's face suddenly lit up and he waved in the opposite direction.

"He can tell you! That's-a my best friend! He's Germany!"

A nurse escorted another, more mature looking man into the room. May felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as his fixed her with a strange glare. She trembled and looked away, back to… whatever his name was.

"Sorry for the trouble doktor. Mein name is Ludvig Belshimdt. I believe you have my Coleage? He's easily confused and a nurse informed me he fell out a window?" At this, he looked directly at May.

What? Did he blame her for it? She opened her mouth to say something, but the doctor spoke before she could.

"Yes, but he appears to be fine. There may be a slight concussion, but its really a miracle he didn't brak his neck. Five stories is not a small drop-"

"Jes, I am very much aware. Where can I sign him out? Come Feliciano, say goodbye to the nice people." There was a threat hidden in his voice that made May shiver.

"But can't I just-?"

"Nein. Come on. Vere is the front desk, doktor?"

"Right this way sir. Nurse, find the proper paperwork for Mister…"

"Belshmidt."

"Right, Nurse?"

"Okay doctor! You're free to go Miss. Castella, your aunt is waiting out front."

May nodded and walked out of the office. On her way to the front gate, she bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry I-"She gasped in surprise, it was the man from the office.

"You, May, stay away from Feliciano if you know vat's good for you," He growled and walked off, leaving the terrified girl standing frozen in place.

What was going on?


	3. Chapter 3:Tension and Truths

**Alright so this is the first Author note I've written 'cause I was lazy and some things need explanations.**

**I do NOT own Hetalia. All I own is my style, the plot and the human characters. I also own Ireland who will make a slight Cameo in this story, but since this is not an OC or pairing story, she plays a very minor role. Also, although technically OCs, the kids and other human characters are what I would call "one shot stock" characters. This means they only appear in this story, unlike my country OCs who will appear multiple times. This does not mean I love them any less.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Berlin; Germany<strong>

**November 18, 1995**

**Londoner Meets Sticky End!**

Teen Girl bludgeoned to death in Lincoln-shire

**Norwegian Gunner Takes Down Triplets**

3 Teenagers shot by serial killer in Oslo

**American Would-be Victim Saved by Passerby**

"The only time I was Glad to be French!"

**Rising Teen Murder Rates**

What is the connection?

The conference leader fanned out the newspaper headline copies in front of him and cleared his throat halfheartedly. For the first time in history, the conference hall was dead silent. No one was arguing uselessly, in fact, most attendees weren't even making eye contact with each other.

Normally, this would make the former commander pleased and content, but the nature of this meeting made that happiness almost impossible. Almost; it did give him a certain amount of pleasure to know that even the youngest member of the meeting was quiet. Fidgety, but quiet.

"Well…" the leader began, attempting to break the silence, "we all know why this meeting was called."

All eyes instinctively migrated to the man sitting to the right of the conference leader. He buried his head in his hands in a rare display of weakness. Even his rival, sitting opposite the table from him had to look away. If the circumstances had been different, Ludwig would have been disgusted, but this time was different. He turned away and began again in a formal, detached tone.

"We are all aware of the rising danger that our children are being subjected to. The murder in Denmark ten years ago seemed to be a coincidence, but this new development is something we can not turn a blind eye to any longer."

"A sting of brutal deaths and kidnappings has been occurring as of late. If you all look at the newspaper clippings by your seats, you will see a few examples. Last month, the three Norwegian children were mowed down by an angry protester of the government. Not two weeks ago, another murder was committed that I am not going to go into specifics about because you have all heard about it already. To the public at large, there is no correlation between the deaths, especially not when the stabbing of Wang Lee has not been released by her father to the public."

"There is no reason to, aru. I was able to convince my government that it was potentially dangerous and they censored it."

The Chinese man crossed his arms and glared at the rest of the conference, daring them to challenge him.

"Yes, well, that would make the killings seem even less connected anyway, since it occurred on a different continent. And a year ago."

"Just because I didn't tell anyone about until last week, you all act like I betrayed you aru."

"Well don't you think that that might useful information for us when we were trying to make the connection?" The leader spoke through gritted teeth. The older nation was always doing his own thing and leaving everyone else in the dark.

"Mon dieu my Rosaline! So young and beautiful!"

The sudden outburst made the conference members jump. The silence had made everyone edgy, it seemed. Of course, though Mr. Bonnefoy's outbursts were hardly a rare occurrence; this one sent the Brit sitting across from him over the edge. As his rival dramatically blew his nose into a fancy handkerchief, the Englishman jumped up and slammed his palms on the table in a rage.

"Dammit Francis! Where do you get off milking and romanticizing the issue like that? You should be grateful that YOUR daughter is still ALIVE!"

"Arthur," The ginger next to him put an arm on his shoulder gently. "Come on, sit down. He's just trying to get a rise out of you."

Arthur the Brit sent a deadly glare across the table and sat down, the color draining from his face in defeat. His neighbor bit her lip and looked back to the conference leader.

"Well… yes. Vere vaz I? Oh, right. Unfortunately, though we obviously know the connection of the murders, we do not know the reasoning. This is probably the most important piece of information, and happens to be what we lack."

"Now, since all of the killings were committed by a member of the child's own nationality, we can probably trace it to **National Blame. **This makes the most sense… but there are still missing pieces-"

"Yeah, I think I know the real answer."

The comment was quiet, almost inaudible. Everyone turned to the young delegate in the corner who looked confused.

"Huh? I didn't say anything…"

"But you're the only one who is so meek about stuff like this, Mathiew." Francis Bonnefoy cocked his head to the side and winked at the ginger who rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Uh yeah but-"

"It was me. Surprised?" To everyone's shock, the youngest (and normally most obnoxious) member of the conference stood up. "Yeah. Brace yourself for a conspiracy theory everyone."

"What do you mean, Amerigue?"

"I mean that the kids are being targeted… _by your own governments_."

* * *

><p>Ok, so can we make this appointment quick? Sorry to be so abrupt, but mom's waiting out front and I've got a lot of work to do. Hmm? Does she know? Of course she knows; I can't exactly take care of a baby on my own, and I can't drive to get out here by my self.<p>

So soes everything look okay? I mean with the baby? Huh? Have I considered the possibility of getting an abortion? To tell the truth, no. My family would disown me; they're REALLY religious and believe that Allah makes everything happen for a reason. Plus, they're all about family, so they'd view it as a murder.

I guess you want to know how it happened, right? The usual story, a party, a stupid idea, a little too much to drink, and fwallah! His name was Jack and we'd been dating for six months. He told me he loved me and I trusted him. Sappy teen drama; especially since he broke up with me the day after. Well, I figured we were over, since he was eating his ex's face.

No, I don't hold a grudge, I mean, I definitely could. But he was just some guy. After it was over I realized I was just pretty desperate. He _was _my first boyfriend. I know… I was stupid. But like May says, "Let's just thank God he didn't have an STD and that I have people to help me care for the baby."

May is amazing. We've been best friends since grade-school and she's like my life line. I think I told you last time that when I first heard that I was pregnant I got really depressed. I might have been suicidal if May hadn't been there. She is the sweetest, most heavily religious and goofiest person I know. Before the… uh… incident I thought it was _she _who needed _me._ Now I know it's the opposite. Yeesh, am I crying? I'm so sappy.

Still, I gotta get to work soon. Can we wrap this meeting up please? I've got to work on a lot of weaving for the upcoming art fair. Hmmm… you wouldn't happen to be interested in a hand-made Arabian style pot-holder? Look at the detail work here, you won't get finer quality west of Pakistan… oh right, we're west of Pakistan. Yeah, that's where my mom's side's from. Dad's Turkish. He's a merchant; mom says I take after him. She calls me her "little entrepreneur" but seriously: I can give you a discount price~.

Right: back to the actual purpose of the meeting. I'm fine, I- hang on. It's my cell. Sorry doc.

"Hello? May? Hey where were you tod- hmm? Outside Benny's? Okay, just give me fifteen minutes. See ya."

Sorry, that's May. Now I really do need to get out of here. I promised I would teach her some weaving styles. So we're scheduled for next week? Ok. By the way, the offer for the potholder still stands~. You'll take it? Great! That'll be five fifty.

Thank you so much! Here, have a bracelet as my gratitude for you being a super cool gynecologist. Alright, I'll see you next time. Thanks again doctor Bonnefoy!

* * *

><p>She couldn't believe it. This morning she'd been threatened by a scary German dude to stay away from this guy, and here she was sitting on a park bench next to him.<p>

It had started when she'd gone to the market in town to get some special bread and turned around to find her "friend" watching her through the window. When they'd made eye contact, he'd waved and smiled that ridiculous smile. May had inwardly groaned. She'd spent all morning and half the afternoon sleeping to try to make up for the time she'd lost that morning. And here he was. Again. Was he stalking her or something?

She'd left the store to find him waiting for her.

"Oh May! I'm-a glad I could find you! Ow." He grimaced as a purse was swung into his stomach.

"Why are you here? Are you following me?"

"Mmm. Yep. Ve~," he grinned again "Sorry but I just had to explain myself. And I never got to thank-a you for taking such good care of me. Who knew old ladies could be so-a scary." He laughed and May couldn't help joining in.

It was strange, even though his story about how he'd accidently appeared in her bed (which he told her once again as they sat on the bench across from Benny's Gelati) was ludicrous, she couldn't help believing him. He was so funny in a goofy, dramatic way that she felt obliged to like him.

"So, May, do you like Pasta?" He beamed at her suddenly.

"mmm.. not really. What?"

Feliciano (he'd reintroduced himself as well) stared at her with a weird expression.

"Y..you don't like pasta?"

She could've sworn that his jaw had hit the floor.

"Well… it's okay I guess. It's just," She shifted awkwardly away from his horrified expression "I have celiac disease. It's a wheat allergy so before I was diagnosed I would eat pasta and get really sick… so I never really liked it too much. It's actually kinda funny 'cause I've got Italian on both my mom and dad's sides so I like to say that I'm the "rejected Italian"." She laughed but stopped, seeing the expression on Feliciano's face.

He stared at her for a long, awkward moment before bursting into tears.

"You poor deprived-a child!" He threw his arms around her neck and nearly killed her with a crushing hug.

"Uhhh…-"

"Itsa okay! Just-a because you can't eat no pasta doesn't mean you're less of an Italian. You should be-a proud to be special!" He looked at her with tears in his eyes and, placing both hands on her shoulders, spoke in a solemn, completely serious voice "We can work through this together."

"Errr… thanks. But it isn't really that big of a deal…"

"May! May Alex! Oi kiddo, over here!"

Sandy was waving from across the street, jumping up and down. She crossed as soon as May made eye contact, and nearly got run down by a motorcycle whose rider cursed her out.

"Yeah, yeah. May, hi! Why weren't you in school today? Mattie had to do the presentation all by himself in Algebra. Why we even do presentations in a math class is beyond me, who's your friend?"

She nodded to Feliciano who jumped to his feet and waved his arms wildy, blushing like mad.

"Ciao bella! You're so lovely! Are you a friend of May's? We only met this morning but she can't eat pasta and I'm going to help find a cure for her "Silly-Yac Disease"!"

"Uh, you mean celiac? Where did you find _him?_"

"In my bed."

"Wha-!"

One long explanation later (made longer my the fact that Feliciano kept apologizing and asking Sandy silly questions) Sandy sat next to her best friend nodding and stroking her "invisible beard".

"Very interesting. If I hadn't met him I'd say you were on something other than allergy pills."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Here he comes."

In pure exasperation and the need to finish May's story, they had sent Felici across the street to get them gelatis from Benny's.

"Real Italian Gelati! I had a very nice conversation with the man behind the counter. He seemed very amiable and he came from Milan. I love Milan! One of my favorite cities! This-a one's for you!"

"Thanks Feli." Sandy took a big bite out of her peanut butter cup flavor and closed her eyes in bliss. "Wonderful, I love Benny!"

"And for you little May!~"

"Thanks!...mmm… how did you know I love cannoli?"

"You do? I just guessed, guess I was lucky."

She failed to notice that he had the same.

"The man said it didn't have gluten when I asked him."

"Yeah, I get it all the time, Benny's a friend of my auntie's. Thanks Feli!" She gave him a hug and he blushed slightly.

"GOD I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER!" Sandy groaned "And pickles… I could really go for a good pickle."

"And so said the Pregger. I thought that was a myth." May laughed, well acquainted with her friend's random cravings.

Feliciano, on the other hand, was confused.

"Prego?"

"What?"

"No, Pregger," May explained "Prego is Italian for "You're welcome".

"I thought that was a soup.

"That's Progresso."

"AH"

"What's a Pregger?" Feliciano looked at the girls in confusion as Sandy giggled and nudged her friend.

"Go on, Educate the poor man."

"Well, Pregger is American slang. It's used with someone who's pregnant."

"Oh! Wait….. you… but… whaaaa?"

They both laughed at his confusion. May sighed.

"I'm praying for you, amiga," She said with a worried look "Every night. My mom didn't make it… but I know that you will! You have to."

Feliciano looked at the girl with a pained expression.

"I'm sorry about your mother, May." He said softly, and then added to himself _"You don't know how sorry I am."_

She looked at him and shock.

"How do you know about it? I didn't tell you."

The man bit his lip, his eyes filled with guilt and conflicting emotions. "Well you see May, I know your father-"

"You do?" Her eyes brightened with hope and shock. Feliciano had to smile.

"Yes, actually I-"

"Ahem."

All three jumped in surprise. They turned as one and May's blood went cold. It was _him._

Feliciano smiled nervously.

"Ah, Ludwig. Fancy seeing you here. Would you like a gelati? They're really good…"

"Enough of zat. Feliciano, we have to go."

"But-"

"Now." The single word rang out like a threat.

Feliciano sighed in defeat.

"Okay, you're the boss." He looked back to his friends with a smile "Bye girls, I hope we can see each other again."

"Don't count on it." The taller man growled. "Come one."

He practically dragged May's new friend away. She couldn't help watching as they walked down the path towards a waiting car. Only when Feli waved one last time before he was pulled into the car.

The girls looked at each other for a long time before Sandy broke the silence.

"Yeesh, what a creep. The tall guy I mean. Oh hey, Feli left his wallet."

"Sandy!"

"Oy vey. Fine I'll leave the cash in. You should keep it. If either of us see him again, It'll probs be you."

"I hope so.."

As she walked home that day, she couldn't seem to get him out of her head. Her dad, Feli said he knew him. Was he telling the truth?

That evening, her uncle said goodbye as usual and kissed his niece on both cheeks. May's Aunt left later that night for her nursing job at the hospital while May was asleep. Tiptoeing into her adopted daughter's room; she gave her a kiss on the forehead and looked sadly at the picture of her late sister resting May's nightstand.

_"Mi frapella, I wish we could see each other again .Just one time I wish I could tell you in person about what a beautiful young woman your baby has become." _She thought in a silent prayer and tiptoed back out of the room.

There are some things in this world that humans have yet to understand, but have tried very hard to explain. One of the more well known phrases associated with this truth is "Be careful what you wish for."

So true.

* * *

><p>Dear Awesome Diary,<p>

Cookies are awesome. Someday I will marry Elizabeta just so that I can get that recipe.

That is all.

The awesome Kevin

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was pretty hard to write. I promise that the action will pick up in the next chapter. I didn't want to overload so I split the conference into two parts. Please review! I'll update anyway, but I would like to know that I have readers. Thanks everyone, especially RegalPanther who gave me my very first review. I love you all!<strong>


	4. Chapter 3 5: Majority Rules

**Ok, so this is a really short chapter compared to what I usually do.** **This is ****a continuation of the first part of chapter three that was originally going to be** **part of chapter four, but has earned itself its own private niche. I want you to pay attention to what's going on, and I feel like it would be too squished if this and what I had planned were joined together. So this is chapter 3.5. I will probably upload as close as I can to ch.4 so that you don't totally hate me. **

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><p><strong>Berlin, Germany<strong>

November 18, 1995

"What the hell are you talking about America?" Arthur voiced what everyone else had been thinking, "Are you off your rocker?"

"Uh, excuse me Arthur-san, but Alfred, America, Jones…eh…"

"You can go by human or nation name, Kiku. We aren't being watched."

"Thank you Brigit-san. Well, he has a valid point…"

"Yes, well it sounds simply like a foolish conspiracy theory to me," the Austrian sniffed haughtily.

"Um… hello? Dude, I did warn you! Didn't I, Tony?"

"..."

The other conference members stared at Tony for a long moment before it would be safer not to ask. It came upon Germany to drag them back on task.

"Eh… vell can jou explain your point zen?"

"Kay! So, if you think about it: we're weird."

"Says the one who uses a chainsaw to cut steak, aru."

'Nahahahahaha! I meant biologically you chink."

"Excuse me aru!"

"Any-who-way," his face suddenly turned serious "People can't understand us. That's why, since the nineteen fifties, we've adopted human names and only reveal our national identities to very few people. Bosses, employees of the government and… scientists. Like I said; they can't understand us, and people are afraid of what they can't understand. It's that fear of unfamiliar things that causes people to go to war against other cultures."

He paused for a moment so that they could admire his "deepness" then continued.

"Those who know about us want to know how we've stayed alive so long. They want to figure us out. See what makes us tick. I feel nervous whenever I'm around Chemists and some biologists… I don't know if I'm the only one…," the nods around the table reassured him. "They want to examine us; feds, scientists, anybody who knows about the existence of country personifications. But they can't. Dissecting a Nation could put an entire country in jeopardy. Sure, they can't kill us on their own; only a nation can kill a nation. But taking us apart is still risky. Basically, they need us all in one piece. Our kids, on the other hand, are human. They have country blood and serve as the next best thing to examining an actual nation. If they die or are "mysteriously murdered" then…. What?"

Alfred F Jones, the human personification of America, had never been known for his ability to "read the mood." He'd failed to notice the other countries going paler with each sentence of his speech. Only the violent head shaking and "shut up" signs sent to him by France and Germany's brother finally managed to catch his attention.

England, also known as Arthur Kirkland, was the palest of the lot. In fact: his face bore a bit of a greenish tinge and he looked quite sick. He gripped the sides of his chair so tightly that the knuckles showed white under his skin. Arthur's mouth was gaping open in horror and it took a few moments before he was able to croak out a few words.

"They…they told me… too gruesome…her body…I never saw it… said it had to be a closed coffin…oh my… oh my God Leslie! Leslie! What have I done!"

His body shook and, in a rare display of warmth, his neighbor handed him her handkerchief and gave his hand a squeeze. Alfred realized his mistake and blanched.

"Oh. Uh well… maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they really did just want to protect you from seeing her body and actually just stuck her in the ground. Maybe they don't want to take apart nation-lings to see how they tick. Maybe-"

"America. SHUT UP!"

It was an almost unanimous shout from the rest of the nations. Alfred's face flushed and he sat down in a (very) rare display of obedience, laughing nervously.

Germany coughed and picked up the meeting. "Jes vell, now that we've heard that… theory, we must come to a decision. No matter how, or why, the proof that our children are being put in danger is very, very clear.

"Yeah, so what are we gonna do about it West? Tell us the answer oh wise one! Kesesese!"

Gilbert's attempt to lighten the mood went unnoticed and his brother answered bluntly, "We stop seeing them."

"What!"

"You stupid potato jerk! What are we going to-a do, leave them to their mothers? My child was-a just born, are you saying I can't-a have contact with him at all?"

The outburst from the older Italian caught everyone off guard. His brother had been oddly quiet the entire time, even though he technically didn't need to be there. The younger had supposedly come to give his best friends and big brother moral support.

"Vell, put frankly, jes."

"What the f-!"

"Lovino!" The two female countries, Hungary and Ireland, glared in his direction "There are children in the room. No F-bombing Germany until little ears aren't around." The ginger scolded.

"So what would be the exact terms of you proposition, Jer-many?" The Frenchman asked.

"Well-"

"I've got it right here!" America fumbled in his Superman briefcase for the papers and slid them across the table to the conference leader. "We worked on them before the meeting: Matt Luddy and I, I mean."

This serious and humble Alfred was giving the rest of the conference the creeps. Then again, it was an improvement.

America's face brightened suddenly and he laughed "But of course I came up with all the best ideas! I AM the hero, after all. Nahahahaha!"

*Sigh* So much for that.

"Well let's hear it then, West!"

"Ja," The German cleared his throat and began.

**For the safety and protection of the health and happiness of our children we, the nations of the world, agree to the following:**

**1. To refrain from having sexual relationships with human women.**

Two hands shot up immedialy.

"Yes, Francis?"

"So this applies only for relationships with women, no? ohonohonhon…"

"Oh, right, thank you for pointing that out France.

**1. To refrain from having sexual relationships with human**s in general.

Francis looked crestfallen as Ludwig continued.

**2. To refrain from having or adopting human children.**

**3. To keep our National identities secret from all humans and to strictly keep to the selected human names we have chosen, when in public.**

"Don't we already do that?"

**4. To protect our already existing children by giving them to the care of their mothers (fathers in the case of a female country) or close relatives to keep the government from isolating and using them.**

"You watch too many sci-fi movies, Amerigue."

"Don't you mean MAKE too many Sci-fi movies?"

"Hey! It could happen!"

**5. And most importantly, to cut off connections with our children so that they may grow without knowing our identities and stay free of being made targets of national blame or being tracked down and hunted for scientific purposes.**

The last part of the proposition was met with indignation and loud comments from the rest of the assembled nations. Ludwig banged the table to get everyone to shut up, and after a few hits, it worked. He sighed and spoke to his colleagues in a defeated tone.

"I don't like this decision any more than the rest of you, but it IS necessary. If you've noticed the trend, those children who didn't know their parents, such as Rosaline, survived and were able to escape. Those whom we raised… did not."

The irritated mumbles through the conference were soft and defeated. It was true, they all knew it.

"So now, we're going to have a vote. All in favor of this proposition will raise their right arm. Majority rules. If two thirds of the assembled countries vote yes, we all sign. Agreed?"

More mumbles.

"Alright. All in favor?"

One by one, hands slowly rose into the air. Ludwig checked off the human name of each nation who voted. Even Arthur, with a pained expression, shakily raised his hand, whispering the almost inaudible sentence "For my Leslie, it's the least I can do. Forgive me daughter." The only one who heard it was his female neighbor, who pretended she hadn't. Soon, only five hands remained down. The younger Italian raised his hand and looked at his brother who rolled his eyes and raised his as well. That left three.

Austria looked up from his doodling and raised his hand as he realized all eyes were on him, causing the woman next to him to tense up immediately. She shot daggers at him with her eyes and noticeably shifted so that she was sitting on her hand.

The last one accounted for was Prussia. He looked toward the back of the room where his son was playing happily with a stuffed chick and smiled. His hand remained down.

"OK, so it's decided. Majority rules. Any questions?" His face was pained as he looked from each pair of eyes to the next.

"Yeah. What's a "sexual relationship?"

"SEALAND!"

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, this was the hardest chapter yet. Trying to keep them in character while adding suspense and trying to figure out which names should be used was stressful. Please review this chapter, I worked really hard and I'm nervous. So see you next chapter!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4: The Bullet Proof Man

**Ok, so I promised to upload ch.4 right after 3.5, well**

**I lied.**

**Chapter four took a lot longer than I thought so I'm very sorry. I actually finished yesterday, but Fanfiction wasn't letting me log in, so I am very sorry. Enjoy an extra long chapter for your pains.**

**By the way, this chapter corresponds to chapter 3; chapter 3.5 is a flashback to the continuation of a conference, just to clear up confusion.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>That same day<strong>

This afternoon I finally got some time alone to myself. After Kevin's obnoxious entrance yesterday, I have set the mini spy cam (I got it for my 13th birthday… it was a phase) into the lookout hole in our apartment door. That way, if he comes, it'll trip the alarm (also 13th birthday) I've set and alert me to his presence. Of course, if it's Jonas or my mom the alarm will go off anyway… but it was worth a shot.

So, after finishing my half hour of funplay, I lie down on the couch and pull out my AP gov. homework. Riveting. Mr. Carpenter does his best, but this stuff is like walking through glue. It's all I can do to doodle scales in my notebook to keep from falling asleep. And when something does happen in that class, it's usually because Kevin launched a spitball at Josh. Then Josh starts ranting about how, if this were soviet Russia, Kevin would have been tried and executed when he was two, and Kevin will say something like "if this were Soviet Russia, spitball would throw you. Then Josh will get him back later by somehow managing to unbolt his chair legs. To this day, I cannot figure out how he does it without anyone seeing.

Of course, Josh is a bit… interesting. He can rant up a storm without his expression changing, and although he always insists on working by himself in school, he constantly tries to be a part of everything else. The guy is lonely and bitter, and he's my friend. A while ago I realized that his mom was my kindergarten teacher, which gave us a common ground on which to talk. His mom, by the way, is Ukrainian. NOT Russian, as he constantly informs us, UKRAINIAN. This is mainly because he gets called a commie Ruski on a daily basis. Josh hates his dad.

Even though he's a year older, Josh prefers working with me and Kevin (when he has too) to the rest of the class. I used to find it weird, but after he told me a secret of his, I understand. Kev is stupid and I'm a girl, so it makes sense that he's more comfortable with us.

I pull myself from my thoughts to work on the next concept question when the alarm goes off and mom walks in.

"Honey… I understand you're reasoning, but could you hide it on a lower step? I nearly fell off the stairs that time." She asked shakily, her breath coming in short gasps.

"Sorry mom. I did warn you." I choke back laughter from seeing her face that soon melts into a grin.

Mom sits next to me on the couch and I lean on her shoulder. As much as I like and admire Jonas, having my mom to myself is something I haven't gotten much of since he moved here. Her stroking my hair while I do homework, or just sitting together drinking tea and eating Kifli are kind of what I live for. Those quiet moments in my stress filled life mean everything to me.

So we sit with her staring off into space running her hand through my hair and me falling asleep over the structure of British parliament. Then, someone trips the alarm.

I jolt awake having almost nodded off, and mom gets up to answer the door. My eyes refocus and I lift my pencil, just as my mother utters a surprised yelp, and the door slams. I look up to see her leaning against it, breathing heavily, as whoever is there knocks violently to come in.

She mouths two words I can easily understand, "Ally, HIDE"

Under the couch, dragging my bags with me is where I go. It takes tons of effort to calm myself and keep from crying out in fear as the door opens and a gruff voice asks, in Hungarian "Hol van?"

"Ő az iskolában." My mother asks, the steel in her voice unmasked, "Miért jöttél, Ludvig?"  
>"Ne olyan védekező, amit csak akkor kapsz egy figyelmeztetést. A ze Vay? Vajon tényleg szükség van egy riasztórendszer a partra? "<br>"A lányom beállítani. Kérdezze meg unokaöccse, ha valaha is láttam." The last sentence was filled with a bitter sarcasm that I didn't understand

The man cleared his throat, "Anyvay,"

The crossover to English was odd. While he spoke mom's language, he didn't seem to have an accent, but now I can tell he is obviously German. I heard the same tones from Jonas all the time. In fact… there is something I feel like I should remember but can't

"I had to tell you, already being in the area, that you need to leave as soon as possible."

Mom's voice hitched in fear.

"What? You don't mean they've managed to- dammit, how?"

A sigh; and I feel someone sit on the couch above me. Even in the midst of obvious tension, I can't help thinking how awkward it is that some guy is technically sitting on my head.

"Jour phone lines. She got them tapped, somehow. I guess she figured zat vere jou would be, the rest would be near."

"She guessed correctly, but how? The line is private, you know that."

"Jess, vell, not to someone on the inside. Another is helping her."

Just at that moment, my leg twitched out randomly from being cramped and hit the bottom of the sofa. There was a pause in conversation. Shit.

"Vat vas zat?" A suspicious tone had crept into his voice.

My mom, however, was quick, "Our cat, Molly. She sometimes hides under there and if you sit, she'll paw you once in awhile."

"Mmm…"

For the third time that day, the alarm went off. Jonas, having been informed, came in anyway with his usual cheerful "Hallo Freunde!" Then, a horrible silence and the weight suddenly lifted from above my head. The man had gotten up quickly.

"Vell, I best be going. Goodbye, Eliza…. Jonas." The last is soft and hardly audible.

I hear the stranger walk briskly to the door, pause, and then leave, letting the door click behind him. The alarm is triggered with his exit and there is a crash and some cursing from the stairway.

I crawl out to find Jonas still staring at the door. My mom hurriedly shuffles into the kitchen and picks up the phone to dial. But Jonas stands still. I go over to him and peer in his face in concern.

"What's wrong Jonas? Do you know that guy?"

He looks at me in surprise and absentmindedly picks a piece of fuzz out of my hair.

"Ja," he finally states "He's my Vati."

* * *

><p><strong>The Next MorningAfternoon**

Another day, another destiny. Another boring composition class. Hurah.

As I stared out the window, the only thing I could think of was that creepy blond dude from yesterday. He'd looked eerily like Jonas, aside from the eye color. McCreepy's eyes had been blue, while Jonas' were brown. Dark brown too. He's, as we call him, the rejected German. Thank God the guy's got a good sense of humor.

So I was sitting there, listening to Ms. Shunds drone on about this essay writer, craving lasagna, when the school got bombed.

The explosion shook the entire building and sent most of our desks tumbling over. I was one of the many to hit the floor half in panic, and half because I'd fallen out of my chair. I looked around to find May and we locked eyes, both equally terrified.

Later, the school would claim it had been a freak accident, that the boiler room had overheated or some shit, but accidents do not just happen to be in the cafeteria area of a school when lunch had ended only five minutes prior. The "accident" was that the bomber's timing had been off by just enough to save all of our lives.

And then the room erupted into chaos.

Ms. Shunds attempted to usher all of us out in an orderly fashion to the evacuation area as the alarm went off, the sprinklers activated, and Susan McHandi swooned into a dead faint. The fact that the door remained on its hinges was the real miracle.

May and I made it out of the classroom with Susan draped over my shoulders and attempted to push our way through the throng to get out of the now smoky halls and into blessed sunshine and light. Then I realized something.

"Crap. I left it in my locker." I silently cursed myself for being so stupid.

"What?"

"My wallet, it's got all my cash from the sales and school order forms in it. If somebody finds it, I'm dead." I try to keep from screaming. There were over seven hundred dollars in there; money I needed in order to afford Sandy Junior. Dammit!

"I'll get it."

"What?" I was shocked at May's offer and shifted Susan into a more comfortable position. May hated big crowds and I knew that fighting against the throng was the last thing she wanted to do.

"You don't have to-"

"No! Come on Sandy, you need that money. 'Sides, I know your locker combo and somebody needs to get swoony Suzy out of here. I'm not nearly strong enough!" She laughed, and before I could do anything, she'd darted off. I had no choice but to leave her, and follow the flow. As I maneuvered my way, Parker bumped into me and ran in the direction May had just gone. As he passed, I heard something disturbing.

"Dammit, 'does she think she's doing? Stupid German. 'Does Ludwig think he's doing, letting them get here? When I get my hands on him-"

Ludwig, wasn't that McCreepy's name? I tried to turn, but I got jostled by angry seniors and had to leave, my head pounding. What was going on?

* * *

><p><strong>My<strong> life is a piece of shit. Everyday I have to deal with drooly chicks, stupid ass jocks and the Mafia, and now this little jewel.

My charge, May, who's been under my protection for like five years, is a total idiot. A bomb goes off and what does she do? She runs IN THE DIRECTION OF THE FRIKIN FIRE! AS if it wouldn't have been hard enough to protect her if she'd gone out the door with everybody else. I don't know where the stupid firkin bomber is, or what he looks like, or if he's got a knife or a gun, and now I don't even know where that dumb-ass ran off to. GHIGI!

'Course, I never asked for this job. It's that stupid Wow Yang or whatever his name is' fault that I'm in this mess in the first place. Stupid Chink. Damn damn damn! Ludwig was supposed to be watching the freaking building! If May's captured I know who's going to be blamed. That's right ME! Dad'll blow a fuse, gramps'll look all disappointed and mom will probably hug me and start crying. That's the worst. Not to mention if this "little incident" gets leaked to my "friends" in the city, I'll be the laughing stock of the mob. Some son of a godfather I'd be. DAMN!

Finally I rounded a corner and there she was, taking her sweet time to fiddle with a locker in the heart of a burning building. Great. And I thought chicks were supposed to have SENSE.

"May! What the bjeesus are you frickin thinking! Burning building, hello? Did someone not here the massive explosion? Get your ass out of here!" I was a little ticked.

She turned and glared at me. ME. Like I was doing something wrong by trying to save the chick!

"Okay! Just give me a second." She snapped and managed to get the locker open, grabbing a jacket off its hook.

I grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the fastest exit. Even though I knew it wouldn't help, my bad mood caused me to spit some sarcastic comment at her.

"So, afraid you would get cold if you went outside without your precious jacket? Unless you've failed to notice, the building is ON FIRE!"

"Sorry for trying to help out a friend! But of course you wouldn't understand 'cause you don't have any! ... Sorry, that was mean…." She trailed off.

It stung. Sure I was friends with Kevin, but we rarely ever saw each other. Dang.

I kept running, dodging falling debris from the collapsing ceiling. And pulling May along with me. Then we got to the door… which was locked. Great, just great.

"May, stand back."

She must have been feeling guilty or something, 'cause she obeyed. I took a breath, and ran, screaming, into the heavy double doors.

"GHIGIII!"

I rammed it with my shoulder in a full body tackle and felt the metal collapse around me as I stumbled into bright daylight. Ow, shut up sun.

Turning around, I realized May was standing there gawking. I grabbed her wrist again and tugged, "What? I play football, duh. Now COME ON!"

* * *

><p><strong>It<strong> was all so sudden. Just this morning, May had woken up, (like always) read the note from her aunt (like always) and gone to school. (Like most of the time) It had been a normal morning, only broken by the HistoFreaks meeting during lunch. That had been crazy, but in the usual way. And then, just as she was drifting into pleasant dreams, lulled by the voice of , an explosion rocked her from her nap and her desk. And now she was being pulled along like a puppy by a guy she barely knew, who had just broken through enforced metal doors without any padding at all. There went her normal morning.

After a few minutes, she noticed something strange.

"Parker, where are we going?"

They had left the school behind and were now crossing a field onto the main road that led into town. She could only see the plume of smoke rising through the trees that marked the position of her burning highschool.

"Hmm? Oh yeah. There should be a car waiting to take you to safety-"

"Safety from what? Why aren't we back with the rest of the school?"

"No time to explain. I'm supposed to protect you, so we're going somewhere safe."

She stopped completely, just as they had made it on to the corner of Redding and Byrd, on the sidewalk of the street leading into the main part of town. Parker tugged her arm and tried to pull her, but she stood firm.

"Ok, what the heck are you talking about? Why am I in danger, who am I in danger from and why are YOU supposed to be my guardian?"

"I told you, there isn't any time. Now move!"

He tried to drag her, but the stubborn girl wouldn't budge. This was surprising, since she was usually so easygoing.

"No. I am not moving from this spot until you answer my questions!"

He sighed, "Look, I'll explain, I promise, but only once you're safe. I have a lot riding on this assignment." He grimaced.

It was May's turn to sigh, "Fine."

She reluctantly allowed herself to be led up the street. Just as they turned the corner, the window directly in front of them shattered and Parker tackled May to the ground as the squeal of brakes and shouting heralded the arrival of unfriendlies.

"Damn it! I thought we'd make it!"

Parker tried to pull May to her feet, but the terrified girl only stared it horror as the car door slammed and the men piled out, shouting in an unfamiliar language. It was about twenty feet in front of them, and Parker knew that they could make it if they doubled back.

"May, come on! We have to run! NOW!"

He tried shaking her, but she couldn't move. Finally, she managed to get to her feet, and he tried to pull her, but by then, it was too late.

Round after round went off all at once from their enemies. The guns kept firing, but May opened her eyes in surprise. They weren't dead. But how?

He looked and saw that Parker was just as surprised as she was. They looked up at the same time to see a man standing in front of them. He was tall, and his arms were opened wide in a protective gesture. If he'd been a normal human, he would also have been bleeding from the dozens of bullet wounds he _should _have suffered. **If** he'd been human, but the history teacher was clearly not: as he was still standing. The bullets bouncing off his chest flew in crazy ricochets; some hit their owners while others shattered windows all down the street.

Noticing that his students were staring, Berwald Carpenter turned his head and gave them a rare smile.

"Parker Vargas, please escort Miss. Castilla to the car waiting about five feet behind you." His look added the extra _I'll take care of these clowns myself, _on its own.

"Y-yes sir. Come on May." They walked calmly to the car amidst the fire and climbed in, clinging to each other purely out of shock.

As the car sped away, Sweden's smile faded and he turned his attention to the attackers, who had ceased their fire in terror and confusion. Cracking his knuckles, he advanced. No one threatened his students on his watch. **No one.**

* * *

><p><strong>The<strong> car speeds along the road, doing about sixty in a twenty five mph zone. It looks like an SUV, but the windows were darker than they should have been. Bullet proof. What kind of teacher drives a bullet proof car?

All of us are quiet, even Kevin and Parker who would usually be high-fiving each other or something. May looks like she's seen a ghost and I guess, in a way, she has. None of us can quite process what just happened, even though we all saw it. It shouldn't have happened, but it did.

After the alarm had gone off and we'd all been ushered out of the building, Mr. Carpenter came over to Josh and I and motioned us to follow him. I don't now why but for some reason Mr.C seems to lose the ability to speak when he's upset. The day that a teacher's car went off the Sam's Creek bridge and crashed, he'd sat in his desk and gazed out the window. This had been similar only, after the explosion, he'd kept looking around and seemed really edgy. When we picked up Kevin from the Gym area, "the look" came out after only one stupid comment. Usually it takes at least three and a combined effort.

But when he herded all five of us (Josh, Kevin, Jonas that Sandy girl and I) into the car and climbed into the shotgun seat with a guy we didn't know driving, all of us got pretty nervous. And then the whole scene with the gangsters or terrorists, or whatever they were happened. Now, the silence from the backseat is deafening.

I see Sandy lean over and lay a hand on May, who perks up instantly. She holds up a brown fringed jacket and grins goofily.

"I got it!"

Sandy looked taken aback, then laughs, "Wow, 'cause I was _totally _worried about my jacket when I thought you were about to become Swiss cheese!"

The tension in the SUV suddenly melts and we're all laughing at the "Swiss cheese" comment… except for the driver whose expression in the mirror is kind of scary.

The car comes to a stop outside the University in the heart of town, and we pass the time by playing sticks and mafia with some cards that Josh pulled from his coat. It was really loud and happy, as though our nerves were causing us to take any opportunity to loosen up. After about ten minutes: Mr. Carpenter and a younger looking man cross the street and walk up to the car.

"Yo Guys! It's the man of steel! Hey Mr. C, did you give those gunner creeps a lecture on the effects of Ass Kicking or what? Kesesesese!"

The Parker-Kevin high five makes its late debut. Mr. Carpenter, on the other hand, was not smiling. He has a grim expression and is staring at May Alex. He hands her a cell phone which she takes, the smile sliding off her face.

"It's…your aunt…" He murmured, as she put it to her ear, and then looked away.

"Hello, Aunty? Huh…What? Who is this? What? No. no! You're lying. No it can't be… aunty, Tio?"

The color drains from her face, and she starts to rock in her seat, her body shaking visibly. May drops the phone and struggles for breath as she, almost inaudibly, repeats the same phrase over and over, "No. No no- it's a dream. It's got to be a dream. It's got to be a-…wake up. Wake up wake UP!" She buries her head in her arms, still fighting for breath.

Then suddenly: she screams.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, just as a clarification, the speaker in the last section is Ally. If you ever see present tense, and the narrator isn't cursing a ton; it's Ally. If it's cursing, it's Parker. The formal journal is Jonas, diary is Kevin, past tense first person is Sandy, third person is May unless otherwise specified.<br>**

**Translations**

Hungarian

Big Paragraph:

"Where is she?"

"She is at school." My mother replies, the steel in her voice unmasked. "Why have you come, Ludwig?"

"Don't get so defensive, I've only come to give you a warning. By ze vay? Was it really necessary to have an alarm system on your landing?"

"My daughter set it up. Ask your nephew if you ever see him."

German

Hallo Freunde! : Hello Friends!

Vati: German for dad or daddy

Spanish

Tio: Uncle


	6. Chapter Five: Hope Tears and Desperation

**Ok, so I've finally finished this part. I'll keep the note very short; this was a hard chapter. I may go back and edit it later, but for now it'll have to do. Enjoy!  
><strong>

**Please Review if you'd like.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>July 1992<strong>

(Pt. 1)

"Germany Germany! Can we go pet the Sheep Germany! Please, let's go pet the sheepies! Baa!"

The red headed tugged his tall friend's arm like a little kid. Even though they were both adults, the short Italian always acted like a child bothering his mother. His friend did not appreciate being the mother.

"Nein, you dumkopf! Ve were just there five minutes ago!"

It was tiring, having to put up with Italy for the entirety of the Scottish Games. It was a festival hosted by America, and Germany just wanted to look around and experience the entire thing. So far, aside from the Shetland Ponies, all he had seen were those damn sheep!

"Oh come on Doitsu!"

"Don't call me zat! And by ze vay, we're supposed to be incognito. Call me Ludwig." He growled as his companion started playing with his hand.

"Ve~ Ok Loodwig! Can we go pet the sheepies now?" He grinned up at his friend who clenched his teeth and snarled.

"How about this, you go play with the sheep and I'll go do what I want to do vithout jou pestering me!"

Before the redhead could respond, his friend had pulled his hand from his grip and was walking briskly toward the medieval weapons display.

"Ve~," He sighed sadly, then his eyes brightened and he was off back to his sheep "I'm coming Sheepies!"

(pt 2)

She was sipping her coke and minding her own business, when a man about her age nearly slammed into her.

"Hey!" She yelled after him, sputtering through her drink. "Get back here and apologize!" She put her hands on her hips and pointed at him. The man turned around for a brief second, but just turned and ran faster, waving his arms in a panic. Sabrina sighed and chased after him. He _would _apologize, whether he wanted to or not.

It took her ten minutes of wading through sheep and their droppings to finally find him sitting on a bale of hay stroking a lamb. There was a girl next to him, but her back was to Sabrina, so she couldn't see her face.

"Hey you! Why did you run off like that? What kind of guy bumps into someone and doesn't at least apologize?" She asked in a huff.

The man freaked out and pulled a white flag from nowhere; waving it desperately.

"Ve! I'm-a so sorry! Please don't hurt me I.. I'm just clumsy is-a all!" He started crying and spazzing which earned him a laugh from the girl next to him.

"Hey, take it easy friend!" She stood up and faced her sister. "It's OK, dude, Sabi won't hurt you. She's just a little gruff is all!"

Sabrina rolled her eyes at her twin sister. They looked similar, but easily differentiable, since Sabrina had long, straight hair in a ponytail, and her sister, Anita, had short curly hair. Their eyes were different too (one had brown and the other blue) as were their personalities.

"Ok. You apologized. Sorry for scaring you. The cranky twin grumbled, cracking a smile at the look of relief on the man's face.

"Thank you… uh uh.."

"Sabrina." She shook his hand and nodded to her sister to do the same.

Something strange happened as Anita and the boy locked eyes. Sabi had read about love at first sight from fiction books, but she had never really believed in it. She and Josef had taken years to even hook up, let alone profess their love for each other. But nonetheless, as she watched her sister and the young man shake hands, there was something different in the air. Call it superstition, but she could have sworn the noise level of the stinking barn dropped to a hum. She shivered at an unknown chill and broke the silence.

"So, what's your name?"

The man blinked, but wouldn't tear his gaze from her sister. Kinda creepy.

"I.. I'm Feliciano Vargas." He stuttered.

"Anita."

"Anita, that's a pretty name," his face unfroze and he beamed at her, his eyes squinty slits. "I'm Feliciano!"

"Uh, you just said that."

"I did? Hmm… oh well! Do you like pasta?"

Sabrina smiled to herself. Those two would keep each other company. Now she could go meet up with Josef and try teaching him English. Yeah, that would be fun. She looked at the smiling couple one last time before leaving them to their sheep.

* * *

><p><strong>It's<strong> silent. Quieter even then when we were in that car.

The hospital has never been a place I've felt comfortable, it feels like fear and smell like death here, the white white walls hurt my eyes and the odor of disinfectant stings my nose. I especially hate this waiting room with the close chairs and tight spaces. Everyone aside from our group is talking either loudly and giddy in their discomfort, or in hushed, nervous tones. This only makes the room feel more silent.

Our group, a motley crew of people I know and people I don't, sit hunched close together; winging glances at the hallway into which that girl disappeared. I heard her name was May and I recognize her from HistoFreaks, but I do not know her on a personal level. Even so, what she is going through must be hard.

We wait in the chilly, uncomfortable room for half an hour before I notice the Muslim girl stir and sit up straight. We all follow her example as May walks dreamlike into our midst. Her eyes are red and as she opens her mouth, her lip begins to quiver. We can see her shaking as she tries again. It fails. Instead, her eyes burst with tears and she runs toward the exit with her face covered.

"Wait, May!" The Muslim, Sandy runs after her and the rest of us stare dumbstruck.

"So, I guess this would be a bad time for a dead baby joke?" Ally punches Kevin on the shoulder, hard.

I get up, unable to stand the depressing silence, and make my way over to the window, watching the cars speed by on the highway at the bottom of the hill. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jonas, Ally's friend, get up and walk after the two girls. Now only four of us remain in the waiting room, none of us looking at each other.

Someone is standing next to me; a little girl of about five. I look down at her and she looks up at me and turns away shyly.

"Sorry, mister. I was just watching the fire dancers."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind… you can't see them either." She said the last bit quietly, almost silent.

I smiled at her and knelt down to her height, a long way for me. I'm really tall, mother says I get it from my father; a scum I've never had the pleasure of meeting.

Now, kneeling next to this little girl, I think of my cousin Anna. The girl is about her age, but her hair is white blonde, not brown like Anna's or black like mine.

She looks at me and smiles shyly.

"You look like that tall man."

"What?"

"The tall man at my playground a year ago. Mommy couldn't see him. Mommy never sees what I see."

"Uh, okay?"

"Emma? Sweetie, we can see grandpa now." A woman with an African American boy next to her called over to us.

The girl ran off, but turned around and waved nervously before following the woman I assumed to be her mother. I turned back to the window and thought about what she had said.

_I was watching the fire dancers…. The tall man at my playground… mommy never sees the things I see…_

I turned to call after her, but her family had disappeared. That girl needed help and, if I was right, her problems would only get worse.

* * *

><p><strong>It<strong> was unreal. Watching May come in with that pained expression on her face broke my heart. We all knew it must have been the worst from the way she had broken down in the car, but now I could tell it was more than that.

I reached her at the steps of the building, sobbing up against the brick wall. I reach out to touch her, but it falls at my side. Instead, I sneak up behind her and grab her from behind, tickling her into submission.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Oh God Sandy Stop it! Stopit!" She laughed through her tears, sliding down into a sitting position.

I stop my assault and sit next to her. She sniffles and I hand her the tissue box I swiped from inside.

"Tissue?" I ask innocently. She takes it and stares at it then a tiny grin breaks through.

"Tissue? I hardly know you." she whispers in an exhausted tone.

We look at each other then crack up. Unfortunately, this only causes her to start crying even more than before and I hold her against me silently. We just sit there for awhile, not saying anything, just crying. Her and I both. She cries for her family, and I cry for her.

It takes a long time, but we eventually run out of tears and just sit there.

"They were murdered, Sandy," She said exhaustedly, unable to cry, just numb with sadness.

This shocked me out of my Reverie, "What?"

"It was a planned attack. Auntie was outside, taking her break with her friend Rosaline when this guy pulled up and tried to grab Rosa. Aunty tried to tackle him, but he hit her over the head with something and she could only scream for help before she passed out. Uncle tio and the other guards came running, but the man pulled out a knife and used Rosa as a hostage while he tried to back away. Tio saw Aunty on the ground and lost control of himself. He apparently rushed the guy with his nightstick and the man went to stab Rosaline but… but tio threw himself in the way. It went straight into his troat. He… he managed to punch the guy in the face before he lost consciousness. His loss of blood and his wound killed him quickly but aunty…." May paused, chocking on her words.

I knew it must be painful so I tried to quiet her.

"Shh… shh. It's okay, you don't have to tell me."

"No, I have to," She took a deep breath and continued, "Aunty was alive until I got here. She suffered internal bleeding of the skull. She… she only hung on to… to see me again. She died right in front of my eyes."

May lost herself again and buried her face in my shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Jonas sat on May's other side and put one of his large hands on her shoulder. May turned to see him in surprise.

"Huh?"

"I did hear all you said. Sorry. I did not want to… inject"

I had to chuckle at this and May released a weary smile.

"It's "interject" Yo-Yo." I snorted, my dirty mind betraying me in the worst of situations.

"I am sorry," He shrugged "My English not so good… but May Alex if it helps, I have doubt it will, I know what you go through." His face fell and he blinked hard.

May looked up at the boy in mild irritation.

"No offense, Jonas, but I doubt you do."

"I do in fact, you are lucky in a way," he sighed "My mother I knew for long time. I lose her three month past."

"Oh I'm sorry…" May looked surprised and sad. She also seemed a bit guilty for her past comment.

"It is, OK. I… I watched her die as well only… longer time. She was sick for long time. It was pneumonia, her heart weak, she stop eating, suffered much. I take care of her, read her stories. She was brave woman. Your aunt and uncle, I can understand your feelings. It is very, very sad."

He looked sincere. Both May and I looked at him in a new light. Someone who could watch life drain from a loved one like that, and still be as cheerful as Jonas, they had to be strong. Then May did something unexpected; May-like, but unexpected.

"Waaaaa! I'm so sorry I said you couldn't understand! You can you are so brave be strong! You are so kind!"

She launched herself on Jonas' neck and hugged him, sobbing. Jonas' face was priceless. I wanted to sketch it so badly, but nothing could capture it; not even a camera. Then May unlatched herself from him, her eyes shining.

"You gave me what I needed, thank you."

"Eh?"  
>"You reminded me that other people have problems too. I can't just stay sad when others need me to be strong. Thank you so much…. Oh hey!"<p>

May fiddled with her cross necklace, unhooking it from her neck. The rosary was a gift from her father she'd never met, and one of her most prized possession. She looked down at it now and, after giving it a kiss and murmuring some words, she hung it around Jonas' neck. He stared at her, speechless.

"It's for you, to give back what you've given me."

"Vat eez zat?" He looked at her in puzzlement.

She beamed her May smile, "Hope, of course."

* * *

><p><strong>(In German)<strong>

America Log ; Month 3 day 9

I'm writing from the waiting room of the Capital Health complex just off the highway about ten minutes down the road from our school on the edge of town. May's uncle and aunt were murdered today. I talked to the doctor and he said that her aunt Sabrina died of a hemorrhage, or internal bleeding of the brain. Her uncle was stabbed, which I picked up from a conversation she was having with Sandy.

May is a strange girl. She was sobbing when I came over, but as soon as I tried to tell her about my mom in an attempt to show her that I could relate, she turned around and comforted _me. _My mother died three months ago, her family was taken from her less than two hours ago. I am not the one who deserves comfort right now. Even so, I still can't help but be strangely emotional about this whole thing.

Until today, I never cried tears for my mother in front of any other soul. Only when she died did I allow myself to weep. She had needed me to be strong, and I have always been stubborn about this kind of thing. But when May kissed that cross and put it over my head, I started sobbing my eyes out. I tried to not let the two girls see… it didn't work.

So that was how, after going outside the building to give support to a hurting peer, I wound up being fussed over by two very different girls. It was embarrassing to say the least. Actually mortifying, really. Especially with the looks I was getting from old people entering the building. Mein gott! It was like being smothered by two mothers! But still…

After finally getting control of myself, I knew what to do.

"Oh!" I remember saying to May.

I rummaged around in my camera bag, something I always keep with me just to get that perfect shot. I pull out a manila envelope, old and faded from my opening and closing it so often. But the picture inside is what really matters. It's the picture I took of our little cottage in the country outside of Munich. In the photo it's winter and the pond outback is frozen over and a layer of snow covers the trees and garden. My mom's back is to the camera in the picture and she's watching the geese taking off from the water while sipping a steaming cup of hot chocolate. The snow sparkles, and you can see the sun rising from behind a few trees. It was her favorite picture of mine. When I had to leave hurriedly, this one of the few things I had scavenged from our house. The rest I will most likely never see again, though our neighbor was supposed to take care of our house. It belongs to my father. My father.

What was he doing at Ally's yesterday? Why had he suddenly showed up, after me not having had contact with him for over three years? He left so suddenly, I didn't get a chance to talk to him. It was strange…

Anyway, I've kept the photo with me since I rescued it from its frame. It's a bit folded and worn, but mom used to say that it only made it seem more loved. When she was on her death bed, I brought it to put on her nightstand. She always said it made her smile. So it's almost as though, by keeping it with me, she's there by my side. But now, some strange force made me take it from the camera bag and hand it to May Alex. I felt a warm breeze ruffle my hair and smiled.

"_For you. A photo, my mutti's favorite. It is my house, in the picture."_

She looked at it, then at me, then flung herself (once again) around me sobbing.

"_It's so beautiful!"_

I saw Sandy looking at it in awe.

"_Woah, Jonas did you take this? It's spectacular."_

I hate blushing.

After a while, Mr. Carpenter came to us and told us that wee would be "moving off" soon. May sniffled and nodded sadly, murmuring something with her eyes closed. We all went inside and Sandy called her mom and aunts. She's still talking to them even as I write this. She's speaking really soft, but we can still hear her family screaming at her in the background. Apparently they didn't know where we had gone… eh.

After she was on the phone, May asked if I could help her try to find the bathroom. It took us ten minutes to find someone on duty then five more to follow their heavily accented directions. Neither May nor I are great at navigating, it seems.

In the hall we ran into Kevin who looked like he was in trouble. The young African boy I had seen earlier rounded the corner after him.

"_Hey you! Get back here and face me you stinking coward!"_

"_Sorry Yonaze, I'd love to chat, but as you can see, I seemed to have made a friend." _

Kevin pushed me in the boy's way and took off sprinting down the hall. It's a miracle that the nurse he crashed into didn't drop a bedpan on his head which I admit would be hilarious. Then Kev was saved by the boy's mother who came running after him scolding in English to rapid for me to understand. May and I parted as she went to the lady's room and I went to yell at my cousin and write this entry, so I haven't seen her for a bit. Actually, it's been almost fifteen minutes… I'm going to go check and make sure she didn't get lost again. I'll finish this entry later.

* * *

><p><strong>It<strong> had taken a while to find the bathroom, so May was glad to see that it was fancy. Blues and greens with little fish tiles on the walls: cute. The patter of little feet alerted May of another person in the room and she smiled as she though of Sandy's little sisters and brothers. One of them was only five and he was so adorable.

She was washing her hands when the little girl came out of her stall and looked up at the older girl thoughtfully.

"Did your grandpa die too?" It was barely a whisper and the girl looked away as soon as she said it, reaching for the soap.

"No," May looked down at her new friend in surprise. "Why?"

"You have tear lines. I'm sorry to be a bother," the little girl looked down at her feet shyly.

"Oh. Do you need soap?"

May reached up and got some to give to the girl. The dispenser was high up, so a two foot tall munchikin had no hope of reaching it on their own.

"mmmm… thanks." It was soft and the little girl washed her hands silently after that.

May smiled at her with a "You're welcome" and exited into the hallway.

"Now which way is the waiting room…."

Five minutes later, the girl was wandering a lone hallway far from the ER in total despair. She turned around hopefully at a tap on her shoulder to find a man in a white coat holding some sort of cloth in his hands and smiling at her.

"Excuse me, Miss. We're conducting a survey. Does this rag smell like Chloroform?"

He handed her the rag which she sniffed innocently.

"I dunno. What does chloroform smell… like…" May's speech slurred as the man pressed the rag against her open mouth.

Something weird was happening, her limbs were growing heavy and she couldn't make out the details of where she was. In fact, she was actually very sleepy….

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><p><strong>Jonas<strong> found the girl's room without much difficulty. Apparently getting so messed up the first time made retracing his steps very easy. Finding May, not so much.

He figured that she must have gone in the opposite direction of the waiting room after knocking and getting no reply, so he followed her probable path. After following it for some while, he found that he'd gotten lost himself. All the hallways looked the same!

"Excuse me sir," a thick accented man with a covered stretcher shoved Jonas out of the way as he rolled through.

Jonas opened his moth to say something, but stopped. There was no point, this man was probably going to the morgue anyway, what with the covered body and all. He turned to leave, but stopped.

The cart-like stretcher had hit a wall on a turn and something had fallen.

"Hey! Mister! You drop- vait a minute..."

It was a button. A button with a derpy looking George Washington waving a Canadian flag while straddling the globe. A club button. A HistoFreaks club button. _May's_ HistoFreaks button. It had her name on it carved on the back. He looked at it, the at the hall where the stretcher had dissapeared, then made up his mind.

"Get back here! Hey! You!"

He ran, following the creak of stretcher wheels, which got louder as did the sound of boots on the floor. The man was running! Jonas couldn't let him get away.

The teen sped up, nearly sprinting. He rounded the corner and found himself in an atrium. The doors sung open as the man rushed to push the stretcher in front of him. Panting, Jonas sped up even more, not caring that his sides were cramping. He had to stop that stretcher!

But luck hated Jonas. There was a van parked right out front which the man hurriedly shoved the body bag from the stretcher into the trunk of and hopped in, yelling something in Arabic to the driver. They sped off, flooring it, as Jonas desperately chased the car, waving to get them to stop. He followed them fruitlessly until the van made the turn off onto the highway**... and was gone.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Hero Mobile

**Okay, chapter 6 is up. This one is kinda funny but also intense. Very intense. Caution:blood. Other than that, I'd like to thank all of those who have reviewed, liked or watched this story. I love all my viewers! **

**Feel free to review or like, I loveth all whoeth payeth meeth attention. Enjoy!**

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><p>"<em>I am going to eat you!" Roared the dragon<em>

"_No! Please don't eat me! I'll make you fat with high cholesterol and increase your risk of diobedes!" pleaded the princess_

"_No! Not diobedes! I won't be able to drink milkshakes!" Said the dragon._

"Chigi! Who the hell wrote this garbage? This is the most messed up children's book I've ever read!"

"Then why the heck are you reading it, Parker?"

"It's better than the tabloid crap… oh wait, I take that back. At least I can ogle anorexic chicks in those-"

"Hey!" I smack Parker upside the head angrily, "Why are you so mean? Anorexia isn't a joke!"

"Yeah well, I don't freaking care." He tossed the book back in its basket.

Kevin picked it up and flipped through it.

"Oh my god… it's a coloring book. This is just messed up. Wow, Parker, why did you pick this up in the first place?"

"Shut up!" The little guy is beet red as he snatches the book from Kev and tosses it into the book bin across the room. I admit that he has good aim for someone who trips over his own feet. "It's none of your business, okay? My dad and I used to do these together when I was little, so I just wanted to see. Those didn't have crap pictures though and they were in Japanese."

"Huh? Why?" I look up at him from my scores, still mad about the anorexia comment. "Do you know Japanese?"

He looks at me and rolls his eyes.

"Duh, I am Japanese, stupid."

"Woah, wait… dude, you're Asian!" Kevin states loudly, causing us to get some strange looks from people sitting near us in the waiting room.

Parker blushed furiously at the looks he gets and glares at Kevin angrily.

"Yeah, what did you think I was, Russian? That's Ruski's territory."

"Excuse me?" An angry looking Josh comes over from the window. "Did you just call me a Ruski?" His voice gets really soft and his purpley eyes flash.

Here comes the storm.

"You heard me, commie bastard!" Parker gets up to face the (MUCH) taller junior.

Sparks fly between them and I see Sandy sinking lower in her chair. She has both of them in study hall… poor girl; this must be a common occurrence.

"And in the left corner we have four foot nine freshie Parker Vargas, apparently Asian and even shorter than Napoleon Bonaparte according to Mr. Carpenter! And in the right corner, we have six foot three Junior Joshua…. really confusing and hard to pronounce last name who is going to beat the pulp out of tomato face! Ding ding ding!"

"Kevin, are you ever mature about anything? And Parker, cut it out!" I stand up and get in between the bristling athletes (Parker plays football and Josh basketball) who look ready to tear each other's throats out.

"Josh is Ukrainian, okay? His dad doesn't count. And you need to stop picking fights, especially when one of our club members just suffered and extreme loss!"

Both look at each other and sit down. I glare at Kevin for instigating as Parker mumbles, "I'm Japanese and Italian, okay? The Asian is on my mom's side. No Spanish," and get back to my music. Not for long.

"Has anyone seen my daughter? Please, I can't find her anywhere!" A young woman with a black teen by her side runs frantically into the room. I think I remember seeing her before with a little girl.

Josh looks up "What happened?" his face is concerned for some reason. I remember that he was talking to a kid by the window. It must have been the missing girl.

"I took her to the bathroom and she wanted to go in alone. Then Liam got in a fight-"

Kevin has a newspaper over his head by this point, as well as a book that looks suspiciously like Jonas' diary in his lap. That explains why Jonas was yelling at him earlier.

The woman continued "When I came back, she was gone. I think she might have wandered off somewhere, she's very curious" a look of worry is etched on her face which leads me to believe that this is not the first time something like this has happened.

"We can help you look," I say, getting up. Mr. C was outside talking to someone over the phone, so I figured he wouldn't mind if we looked around.

The others followed me, including Kevin who looks nervously at the Liam boy. Sandy has just walked up to the desk to inquire with the receptionist about whether anyone had seen a kid that fit the description, when the front doors burst open violently.

"Everyone get on the ground! Hands up where we can see 'em!"

The affect is instantaneous. Everyone screams and drops to the floor as five armed men in fedoras stride in. The leader has a nose that looks as though someone took a hammer to it when he was a baby. In fact, they all look a little crumpled in different places. One guy even has a nose ring. Hmmm…

One of the guys goes up to the desk, shoving Sandy aside and leaning on the counter.

"We're looking for a guy by the name of Parker Vargas, you seen 'im? We got a tip off dat he checked into the hospital 'bout two hours ago. You know the one?"

He has one elbow on the counter and is holding his gun casually while giving the terrified receptionist a freaky leer. I felt sick just watching.

Parker is frozen at the window with the missing girl's mother, looking freaked out while comforting the shaking woman. The black boy is grinding his teeth and glaring like a devil.

"Yo…who called the creep patrol?" a whisper next to me asks, earning a kick.

"Can't you ever be serious?" I hiss back

"Nope. Kesesese!"

"No talking!" nose-ring spits at us in a weird accent… Russian? Maybe?

Creepo # 3 casually goes around locking all doors except the one to the outside which is guarded by two other guys. Squash nose is looking around at all the terrified people, us included. I see a movement out of the corner of my eyes and, before I can stop him, Kevin has all but one on his fingers down. It takes exactly half a second for the bomb to go off.

"You messing with me, smartass?" Squashie's over to us in a flash and drags Kev to his feet by the collar of his shirt.

"Oh no sir, I was only saluting you in the way of my people. You see, we have long standing tradition of ceremonial handshake, you want to see it?"

"Are you shitting me, punk?"

"Yup."

"Okay, that does it! Now you all get to see my people's long standing tradition of what we do to wise ass teenagers! Watch well everyone!"

Squash nose pulls back his right arm to clock Kevin with the butt of his gun. Smirking, he makes his fatal mistake. Pinning Kevin the wall with one hand pressed hard against his chest, he asks a questions.

"Any last word's smartass?"

"Yeah," he looks directly at me and winks with a giant grin, "Hand sanitizer stings like the devil."

"What?" The guy looks at him, completely confused "Don't you mean, save me or please don't punch my lights out?"

"Nope."

And then he does it. Whipping his hands over his head, Kevin face palms Squash nose with both hands. The man throws him to the side with a roar, then blinks, confused. He has some sort of liquid dripping down his nose and cheeks.

"What the f- ARRRRRRRGGHHHH!" He claps both hands over his eyes and screams in pain, his eyes turning red and bulging, with tears streaming down his face.

The other armed guys run over to Squash nose, except for Nose-Ring, who lumbers threateningly toward Kevin.

On an instinct, I lunge at the guy and shove him in a full tackle. It isn't very powerful, and he turns to shoot; facing me on full. Bad move. My arm shoots our and I grab his large nose-ring, yanking down with all my might. He yells in pain and grips his bleeding nose as I kick him in the nuts and grab Kevin who is wincing from smashing into the wall.

Squash nose is going berserk. He swings at everything, streaming curses and knocking over everything. Everyone takes this time to act as the creep brigade is in confusion and disorganization. Parker tackles one of the door guards to the ground and yells at the other people in the waiting room to get out. Josh gets the other guard and sandy gives #3 a good kick in the balls for shoving her. Then, while the whole room is in complete chaos, Parker yells for us to come and we all start for the door.

At the last second, Squash nose lunges and grabs me from behind, still unable to see.

"Get down or I'll blow her brains out! Whoever is Parker Vargas, you'd better get your ass over here before the lady gets it- urg!"

Parker punches the guy in the small of the back and grabs my hand.

"Come one, time to split! Yo squash face this is the voice of the guy you're looking for! Remember it, 'cause the next time you here it-"

"Parker! Shut up!"

"Yeah well… anyway, I'll kick your ass!"

And on that note; we got the hell out of there.

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><p>"<strong>No<strong>.No NO! Damn! I. was. So close! Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Jonas screamed in frustrated German as he fell to his knees in the parking lot. His fist pounded the hard asphalt furiously and he cursed everything to hell. That man in the white coat, his father, even himself.

Not even the squeal of tires broke him out of his furious reverie. It didn't matter if he got run over; May could be dead for all he knew and he hadn't stopped them when he had the chance. Now he couldn't do anything. Useless, useless USELESS!

The force of the teen's unrelenting blows cracked both the blacktop and his own skin. Jonas's knuckles split down to the bone and his blond hair became freckled with the spray of blood. He didn't care. Nothing mattered at the moment.

A rough hand fell on his shoulder, causing the boy to start. In his frenzy, Jonas whirled around with his fist clenched tight and his eyes wild with fear and anger. But the blow never connected.

Mr. Carpenter caught Jonas's wrist an inch from his face. Wild eyes locked on to the calm, never wavering expression of his teacher.

The boy's face grew hot with shame as he followed Mr. C's gaze down to his raw and bloody hands. After a long silence, one sentence escaped Mr. Carpenter's lips. "They got away." It wasn't a question, nor and accusation, but Jonas stared at the ground in silence, ashamed of his weakness. Idiot!

"No time, I'll fix your hands in the car. It isn't safe and Alfred is nearly here. Come"

Gingerly the Swede led his German student along through the lot. Breathless, panicked voices soon reached them. "Jonas!"

Ally, Parker, Josh and Kevin ran up to them, led by Sandy. "Jonas thank God you're alright! Some gunmen came into the lobby looking for someone and we only got out because –hey…what happened to your hands?" Sandy stared at him in shock, as did almost everyone else.

Jonas didn't meet their eyes, especially not Sandy's. How could he? He'd let her best friend get taken away to…God-knows where. And he physically couldn't say anything either; he had momentarily lost his ability to English.

"Hey…" Parker looked around suspiciously "Where's Maylex? Wasn't she with your?"

Silence.

"She didn't…" Parker's eyes widened and his jaw practically dropped "NO…she wasn't?-"

Silence.

And all hell broke loose.

"Are you effing kidding me?" Parker suddenly snapped and lunged at Jonas, "How could you let them get away, you good for nothing effing potato bastard? *punch* Chigi! *slap* You stupid Kraut! *slap* she might be dead and it's all. Your. Effing. Fault!"

Josh and Kevin grabbed Parker's arms behind his back as he violently struggled, breathing fire.

"Let me at him! Let go you… you bastards! Don't you know what he's done? He's started a war, that's what! Chigi! Umph!"

Josh tackled Parker to the ground as the creep brigade burst out of the hospital entrance: releasing bullets right and left. The group hit the dirt (metaphorically speaking) just in time. Squash faces eyes were still raw red, even from this distance, causing Kevin to chuckle from where he lay.

"Heh heh, he's in pain!-Ack!" a bullet whizzed by his head, nicking the edge of his ear. Ally looked concernedly over at him from where she was next to Jonas. His hands still bled, even though she tried to stop the flow by wrapping them in his own shirt.

"Kev-!"

Mr. Carpenter pulled her back down as the men (now much closer) fired again.

"Hey, Mr. C?" Kevin had a hand clapped over his ear and winced as it started to bleed through his fingers "Can you do your whole "Superman" thing again, please?" His fear was evident in his voice.

Not good; his feelings soon spread to the rest of the group and Sandy started to silently cry. They all knew their only hope of survival would be if their teacher turned superhero again and kicked the attackers' asses.

But Mr. Carpenter knew he couldn't protect all of them. He'd been caught off guard; his best bet would be to wait until the attackers were close enough then take them on one at a time. If he was alone her could do it easily; five guys with shotguns was nothing. But he had to protect his students; he couldn't leave them in the open. It was hopeless. He couldn't protect six children at once!

Then it happened. As the gunners were in lot "E" (only two away from where the group cowered) a strange roar sounded stopping them in their tracks. Then the honking out of the revelry cut the air, heralding its vehicle's arrival with an off key; "Doo-doo–beedoop-doop-doo-doop-beedoop-doop-doop-doo-beedoop–doo-doo-dee-doo!"

The familiar sound broke through the chill air as a giant RV came hurtling straight at the kids. When it came close to the gunners, the huge trailer swerved madly; coming within inches of them, and threatening to knock them down like bowling pins.

"Yeehaw! Yeah you'd better run you varmints!" The driver of the RV yelled out the window as the gunmen scattered, many dropping their weapons.

As they freaked out and scurried backwards, the hospital security officers were able to tackle all but one to the ground who tripped running up the steps, crashed into the iron railing and fell headfirst into the large trashcan beside the entrance.

"Na ha ha! Serves them right those scumbags! No one messes with _my_ citizens! Yo Waldo, how's it going Homie?"

The cold glare from Mr. Carpenter showed who the driver was referring to. It would have been funny, if they weren't still possibly about to die.

The RV screeched to a halt right in front of them. Everyone stared, dumbfounded; even Jonas who broke his silence for a brief moment;

"Dubloo-Tee eff?"

There was a good reason actually, many reasons, for their confusion. One was that the driver was wearing a giant ten gallon hat with sunglasses and the other was the vehicle itself. A thirty foot long submarine sandwich decal stretched from one end of the monster to the other. Written above it was the ginormous caption "THE HERO MOBILE!" And the vehicle also donned a pair of bull horns attached to the front with an American flag waving from the top. If this was their getaway car, the group was screwed.

The driver opened the door with a huge grin, lifting his sunglasses up so they could see his twinkling blue eyes. It had a strange effect; all of a sudden the kids felt their nerves relax a little, and Josh even smiled a bit. Probably because the guy looked pretty stupid in his giant hat.

"Well, don't be shy, come on in before your friends escape or call more of their buddies to beat the crap out of you! Hahahaha! What, never seen a hero before? Come one!"

Reluctantly, the children got on board. The driver closes the door, but not before noting Jonas' damaged hands.

"Ouch. Sweden, if you need some supplies to fix him up, there's a first aide kit in the back."

Sandy and Ally looked at the driver in confusion. Did he just say-woah!

The RV took off with a jolt going from zero to fifty in about five seconds. The kids all fell backwards, some tumbling over, while Kevin landed on top of Parker and Josh grabbed the top luggage rack at the last second.

All in all, from the terrorist attack, to the shooting, to the attack in the hospital and the kidnapping of May Alex and now the being jumbled around on a crazy van going to who knows where; it had not been a very good day.

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><p>"<strong>Go<strong> Fish~ve!"

"Damn Veniciano! Why are you better than me at everything!"

"Hmm, what was-a that?"

"Nothing… just just… Chigi!" The angry Italian knocked over the card table and stormed out of the room.

Why did Feli have to be so damn persistent? That potato jerk had already caught him trying to make contact with that girl twice, and now he was probably planning to try again! Yeesh, stupid little brother; he was as good at being sneaky and clever as Lovino was at… everything else. Grr…

Lovi sighed and leaned against the outside of the building while lighting a cigarette. Yeah well, at least he was allowed to see _his _kid. Of course… that was kind of all China's fault, and the boy couldn't have a normal life… Eh.

The phone rang from inside for the third time, and Lovi cursed. He threw the butt on the ground and snuffed it with his boot. Veniciano was probably sleeping, that lazy bastard. Now he had to answer it. Grr…

Lovino rushed into the house, slammed the door, tripped on the carpet, grabbed the edge of a table (which fell) and lunged for the phone just in time.

"Yeah? Lovino Vargas-a here; this had-a better be important or I'll shove an umbrella up your- what… oh hey Sweden… he he… I was-a totally joking, ve~."

Silence

"Eh well… what is it… what? What! WHAT! VENICI!"

They had got her.


End file.
